As the Sun is pouring fire, it’s the time for the packaged water industry to tap the thirst market. Kinley, a major player in the packaged water market and claiming to have over 22% market share, said that the majority of its market lies in the metros - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Banglore. "The total size of the packaged drinking water business according to our study is estimated at Rs 1,800 crore and is poised to grow to around Rs 2,200 crore by 2010," says Balajith Shetty, project head, Manickchand Oxyrich, a brand of bottled water.

The expected growth in the market and increasing competition causes new players entering the market and market stalwarts launching new variants. Bisleri is optimistic about the future as it recently launched the "Natural Mountain Water". Ramesh Chauhan, chairman, Bisleri says, “The growth prospect for this segment is unlimited.” A major market for every packaged company is Chennai, which witnesses huge consumption of bottled packaged water.

It is estimated that there are times when the city has seen the sale of packaged water shooting up by nearly 10 lakh liters a day.